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So I recently decided to trade motors with my older brother, gave him a rebuilt 350 with a roller cam and vortec heads (freshly broken in & fully dressed) and agreed to remove his motor/install new motor and buy him headers for a freshly machined 350, .030" with a scat 383 assembly (came balanced from scat), splayed mains, an aggressive flat tappet cam, roller rockers and a set of TFS 23* 195cc heads (all brand new)

The shop assembled his short block and upon throwing on the flex plate I noticed the motor was a nightmare to turn. I pulled the timing chain off and noticed the cam was literally seized in place. Pulling it out just a hair I could see the front cam bearing was damaged. Still wouldn't rotate. Pulled the main caps and the front two main bearings were scored - along with the crank; just enough to catch a finger nail. From there I noticed piston skirts rubbing on the cylinder walls and a ton of metal shavings EVERYWHERE (in the cam bearings, lifter holes, oil galleys.... pretty much everywhere but in the main & rod bearings).

Further investigation revealed this... (You can see the counter weights have been ground down significantly in a few spots and the metal shavings on the edge of the main journal)


The block appears to have been clearanced the slightest bit under the cam area and around the bottoms of the cylinders. My rod caps were ground along with the counter weights.. I know damn well he didn't rebalance this. Is it salvageable?! Anyway that scat did this to balance the crank?

 

I'd start looking for another shop

 

You aren't kidding. He doesn't balance rotating assemblies so I know damn well whatever he ground out he didn't rebalance.
It almost looks like he tried knife edging a few of the counter weights and gave up half way through. Oh and he must have done it after he torqued it all down cause all the metal shavings are still floating around.


It kills me cause if I assembled it I would have gotten the final cut on the cylinder walls correct, sent the crank out to be checked, and clearanced the block myself... none of this would have happened. Now I feel like I'm going to eat the cost of rebalancing.

 

The crank is salvageable with some Mallory metal if the journals can be saved. Gonna hafta totally strip the block, get it re-washed, all new galley plugs, bearings, re-wash ALL the other internal parts, big hassle.